Easy ways to motivate yourself

Often we are fighting the battle of looking for practical solutions for the universal motivation-problem. Here are a few tricks which will help you combat the feeling...

| TNN | Feb 29, 2012, 12.00 AM IST

Easy ways to motivate yourself (Image Courtesy: Corbis)

Often we are fighting the battle of looking for practical solutions for the universal motivation-problem. Here are a few tricks which will help you combat the feeling...

Sign a pact with yourself
Always make a deal with yourself. This not only helps you in planning things but also motivates you to work harder and reach for your goal. Promise yourself rewards and the process shall get easy.

Be enthusiastic
Learn to be enthusiastic. This gets you into the motivated frame of mind and the task gets simpler.

Question yourself
Ask yourself empowering questions every morning. It is very important to feel good and happy about yourself. The morning questions get you in the mood for striving harder to achieve your goals and incorporate positive feelings into you.

Create small goalposts
Set smaller targets to achieve first, before reaching out for the bigger ones.

Do the toughest tasks first
This will help you ease out the smallest worries and boost your self-confidence.

Do not compare yourself with others

Comparing yourself with others can kill your motivation. Remember everyone has different priorities in life and they can never match up. Focus on your list and how you can improve them.

Go easy

Instead of jumping into something, head slowly. This will not only help you understand your targets but also help youachieve them better.

Break it down

Break your task into small projects. Focus on the smallest task first. Priortise what needs to be done first and what later.

Remember to have fun

Or create fun in a task. Then you'll stay motivated to do and finish it.

12. Get out of your comfort zone

Face your challenges to get a real boost of motivation. If you are holding yourself back have a look at 5 Life-Changing Keys to Overcoming Your Fear and the methods in this article. They can help you get started and take that first scary step outside your comfort zone.

Don't fear failure

Instead redefine it as feedback and as a natural part of a successful life. As Michael Jordan said:

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Also, try to find the valuable lesson(s) in each of your failures. Ask yourself: What can I learn from this?

14. Do some research on what you are about to do. Then your expectations will be more grounded in reality and you can also get good hints on what difficulties that you might run into along the way. Managing your expectations can lower the often almost explosive initial enthusiasm. But it can also lessen the lack of motivation that usually follows when most of that enthusiasm has dissipated.

When you know what has happened to others in similar situations - what path they have walked - you can adapt and try their solutions (and personal variations of those) and your own. This makes the worries and challenges easier to handle. Both emotionally - since you know at least some of the things that will happen and that others have lived through it before - and practically.

Figure out why you're doing something

If you don't know or don't have good enough reason to do something then it will be hard to get it done. Do things that you have really strong reasons to do. If you want to do something then figure out a good reason to do it. If you can't find one consider dropping it and doing something that you have a good reason to do instead.

Write down your goals and reasons for working towards them

Tape them on your wall, computer or bathroom mirror. Then you'll be reminded throughout the day and it becomes easier to stay on track and focused.

Take The Positivity Challenge!

Learn to think more positively most of the time. Learn to let to go of negative threads of thought before they have a chance to take hold of you. You might not be able to be positive all the time no matter what happens. But I think most of us can improve on our positive thinking and the results it can lead us to. Perhaps more than you realize right now.

Cut down on TV

Do you watch it too much? Watch less of what they are doing in TV-land and do more of what you want to do in life.

Reprogramme your information intake

Programme out negative and cynical thoughts from the media and society. Reduce your information intake. Then programme in positive news and entertainment, more of your own thoughts and useful information such as personal growth tapes and books. Be selective and keep it positive.

Make use of your creativity

Take out a piece of paper. Write at the top of the page what area in your life you would like to have more ideas about. Perhaps you want ideas to earn more money or become a healthier person. Then brainstorm until you have written down 20 ideas on that topic. Then try for 10 more. Not all ideas will be good. But some will. And as you make use of your creativity you not only discover useful ideas. You also discover just how creative you can be if you try and how motivating and great that feels.

Find out what makes you happy

Then do that. As much as you want or can.

Listen while you're on the move

Build your own small library of motivational/personal development tapes. Listen to them while you are driving, riding the bus or your bike, while you are out running or walking. Take a peek at my recommended personal development products if you are looking for a good place to start.

Think outside your box

Don't imagine the future from the box of what you have now. Just because your mind is in box of previous experiences doesn't mean that's the limits of the world. Your possibilities are much larger. Create the future from the now and from nothing rather than your past to experience bigger changes with fewer limitations than you would if you created it from what you can see from your box.

Make each day count

We don't have all the time in the world. So focus on today and do the things you really want to do.

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